


What Happens On the Cruise, Stays On the Cruise

by tokyocherry



Series: Love Is War [3]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Competition, Confessions, Couples cruise, Falling In Love, Fluff, Humor, Kissing, M/M, Melodrama, Mention of ITZY members, Parties, Revelations, Rivalry, extreme romantic tension, ships, sookai actors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24430801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokyocherry/pseuds/tokyocherry
Summary: after being forced to go on a Couples Cruise to 'find' some chemistry between them, Kai and Soobin end up finding something much deeper and revealing truths they had both hidden for a long time.
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Huening Kai
Series: Love Is War [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736320
Comments: 24
Kudos: 168





	1. Is This Seasickness I Feel?

**Author's Note:**

> hello! to have a better experience, try listening to your favorite 'love-themed' playlist while reading. 
> 
> enjoy! 💕

Soobin brings up his phone close to his face, sighing as he pressed the button to start an Instagram Live on his phone.

“It’s Soobin!” He starts cheerily. “I just wanted to give you guys some pretty _big_ news. But first, I want you all to take a deep breath with me…”

He pauses and inhales dramatically before continuing. “… _I will not be online for a full 24 hours_. Yes, you heard that right! Your boy will be going on a social media detox!”

The comments immediately flood with worry from his fans. He tears up along with them. “I know it’s gonna be tough my loves! But I need everyone to stay strong, alright? I won’t be gone forever. I miss you guys alr—”

“ _Sir_ , can you _please_ hurry up and deposit your phone already? You’re holding up the line.” The cruise attendant glared at him, waving to the people in the line forming behind him.

Soobin pouts at her. “I still think it’s ridiculous that we are not allowed our phones. Shouldn’t it be a vacation?”

The cruise attendant looks like she wanted to quit her job right there. “Sir, for the last time: in order to focus on our couple activities, all distractions such as electronics must be stored away.”

“But I’m a celebrity!”

“But I don’t care!”

Soobin was still unconvinced. “Okay but what if I saw a _really cute_ dolphin and wanted to take a picture of it?”

“Oy! What are you doing?” Kai thwacks Soobin on the head with a rolled-up magazine. “I was gone to use the bathroom for 5 minutes and you’re still not finished here?”

“Fine! I’m doing it, jeez.” Soobin scowls at Kai before returning to face his phone. “Don’t miss me too much alright? I love you guys! I’ll see you soon! Be sure to check my bio for some nice freebies on my new brand deal with _Seoul Baggettes!”_ He rapidly says while sending them flying kisses.

Kai rolls his eyes. He’s really glad he isn’t that social media dependent like his co-actor.

Soobin then reluctantly shuts down the Instagram live and turns his phone off before finally handing the phone to the cruise attendant.

“Wait! Can I tweet something one last time? Please?” Soobin begs.

The cruise attendant looks at him in disbelief before shaking her head. “Sir, _please_ just go already. I have to check in the next couple in line.”

“Soobin, let’s go already, Jesus!” Kai pulls Soobin away from the reception counter. They head outside of the small room and into the deck of the ship.

They gape at the gorgeous view of the ocean and the city getting smaller in the distance. The sun was directly above them, bringing upon an intense wave of heat. The waves rocked against the side of the ship softly, the sea air sprayed their faces and the loud horn blasted from the top of the ship.

“We’re only going to stay here for a day okay? You’re _not_ gonna die without your phone, I promise.” Kai comforts him, knowing if he doesn’t then Soobin will be much more difficult to bear with for the next 24 hours.

“Fine, you’re right.” Soobin smiles sadly. “What are our activities today again?”

Kai reaches into his pocket and pulls out a sheet of paper. “Well, according to the flyer there are around 10 different activities. But don’t worry I asked Mr. Boss man and convinced him that we only need to do 3 of them.”

Soobin visibly deflates. “Well, that’s a relief. Thought I was gonna have to deal with you falling in love with me on this trip.”

“Want me to throw you off this ship?” Kai growls.

Soobin laughs at him heartily. “Lighten up, Kai. I was just joking. I know nothing’s gonna happen between us anyways, I just hope we can learn from some of these old farts here.”

Kai hums in agreement, grabbing their luggage.

“So, what three activities do you want to do?” Soobin asks.

“Uh…we can do the couples massage thing, I guess. Then, maybe we can just choose the others later.”

“It’s interesting how you chose couple’s massage quickly.” Soobin smirks at him.

Kai blushes slightly. “Shut up. I just thought it would be good to have a professional undo all the knots of tension and stress you give me.

“Oh, so this means we’re _not_ gonna be massaging each other?

Kai groans loudly. This boy was already getting on his nervous and its only been twenty minutes since they’ve stepped on this ship. “Let’s just go to our room already please and get ready for the first activity.”

“Alright, alright, jeez you don’t have to be so uptight.” Soobin immediately stops him, snatching their luggages. “Don’t worry, I’ll carry them for you.”

Kai blinks back, stunned. “I—If you insist.”

* * *

“We’re here!” Soobin unceremoniously dumps their luggage in the corner of their room before jumping into his bed.

Even though their room was one of the cheaper ones, it was still pretty big. The two had talked it out with their managers who insisted that sharing a room is part of the couple cruise experience.

Their room had all the standard stuff in a normal hotel room like a television, a closet, a bathroom and it even had a balcony. However, this room had two separate beds which confused the two.

When Kai learned that the room was going to be two separate beds, he felt a bit disappointed for some reason. 

“Why are the beds even separate? I thought this was a couples cruise.” Kai blurts out, unaware he had broadcasted his thoughts out loud.

Soobin raises his eyebrow, giving him a sly smile. “Hmm, you really wanna sleep with me _that_ bad huh.”

Kai immediately launches the tv remote at him. “That wasn’t even what I meant, you _pervert_!”

“Why are you calling _me_ the pervert? You’re the one who wants us to sleep on one bed.”

“I was just wondering out loud! Plus, even if we _did_ have one bed, I would have forced you to sleep on the floor!” Kai turns away from him and crosses his arms.

“Whatever!” Soobin picks up the remote that he dodged and turns their television on. “Hey, let’s check what’s on tv instead.”

Immediately, loud moans filled the room as their television started flashing explicit scenes between two naked people.

Kai lets out an inhumane screech, begging for Soobin to turn it off. The older boy clumsily tries to click the off button, taking more time than it should have. In the meantime, Kai covers his ears and closes his eyes, his face as red as a beet. When the television finally returns to black, both boys sigh deeply in relief.

“What the hell was that? Why the hell was that on our television?” Kai asks, feeling alarmed.

Soobin laughs at him. “It’s probably because we’re in a couple’s cruise.”

“Okay and?”

Soobin smiles at his innocence. “Oh, you pure little baby. It’s to get people in the mood!”

“I hate this place so much.” Kai groans, burying his face on his pillow. “I can’t believe I’m stuck with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nevermind. You ready for the massage now? My back has been hurting a lot lately.”

Soobin snorts. “Dude, _I_ carried all our luggage. _I_ should be the one complaining.”

They head to the massage place which was located in one of the rooms on the second floor. The door had a lot of inappropriate symbols on it that Kai respectfully looked away from as he pushed to open it.

Upon entering, they notice that there were not a lot of couples joining them. There were only one old couple and a middle-aged couple. The two boys awkwardly waddle towards the back part of the room, seating themselves and waiting for their appointment.

Sometime later, a bald man comes in from one of the side doors and walks up to the front to address the couples.

“Good Afternoon everyone! Welcome to Couple’s Massage, we will be providing you with the most sensual and relaxing massage experience with your significant other.”

Kai’s face twists uncomfortably at his words.

“If you are ready for your session, please take one of our complimentary champagne and head into the one of the doors. Please enjoy!” With that, he motions for the staff to start handing out champagne.

Kai takes it and peers into the glass, it was filled with rose-colored liquid and had what he assumed was strawberry bits floating. He glances at Soobin who immediately gulps down the champagne, already asking for a second glass.

“Are you serious right now?” Kai asks deadpanned. “You really need that much alcohol to be around me?”

Soobin raised his hands up defensively. “Hey, you said it not me! Plus, its sweet and I like sweet things.”

Kai takes a tentative sip. His face scrunches in disgust. “Eh, I prefer grape juice.” He drinks all of it anways because perhaps Soobin was right. Alcohol was definitely needed to get through today.

“Are you ready?” Soobin asks.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

They hesitantly step inside the room to the right of them. All of a sudden, they’re hit with a wave of a mild and soothing lavender scent. The room was also considerably humid, with most windows closed shut. Slow and jazzy music played in the background, setting the mood even more.

Suddenly, one of the masseuses approaches them. “Sirs, you can place your champagne glasses on the table over there and you can undress in the bathroom to your left.”

Kai turns to Soobin confused. “ _U—Undress_?”

Soobin nods, a faint blush adorning his cheeks. “Yes, Kai. You have to undress. It’s not like they’ll massage you through your clothes.”

Kai flushes red. “Do we have to take _everything_ off?” He inquires anxiously.

“Not at all, sir. You can keep your underwear on if you want.” The masseuse replies, giggling.

Kai blushes deeper, feeling a bit embarrassed. “O—okay! I’m uh gonna go undress first then.” He heads off to the bathroom, closes the door and places his back to it. He already feels a bit overwhelmed.

This is messing with his brain badly. It’s mainly because of the idea of being stripped down to only his underwear with his nemesis in this very romantic setting as they get sensual massages together. He pinches himself, hoping this is just a very sick nightmare.

When he opens his eyes however, he can only see his nervous reflection on the mirror. _‘Welp, its real.’_

“Kai! What are you doing? You’re taking way too long.” Soobin knocks on the door.

Hurriedly, Kai gets undressed and places his things on the shelf. He grabs a towel and wraps it around his waist, covering himself as much as the towel allows. He then opens the door shyly.

Soobin's eyes bulge for a quick second upon seeing Kai exit the bathroom.

He’s pretty convinced his mind was playing tricks on him when he notices Soobin eye him from top to bottom. He subconsciously covers his chest before muttering lowly. “I—I’ll uh, head to the massage bed.”

Soobin stands idly, nodding as if in a trance. “Uh yeah, I’ll just uh get undressed as well.”

Kai walks over to the massage table, smiling politely at the masseuse. He sits on his bed, waiting for Soobin to join him on the opposite side.

“You and your boyfriend are so cute together by the way.” The masseuse assigned to him mentions. “He’s totally smitten for you, it’s so endearing.”

Kai’s eyes widen in shock. He’s mind was too busy thinking about what she just said to correct her that they’re actually just actors on a mission. Why would she even think Soobin likes him? It was probably just a joke.

“I’m here! Let’s get this over with.” Soobin announces, sporting his slender and toned frame. Kai takes one glance before averting his eyes, suddenly feeling even more flustered.

_‘He has a really nice body.’_ Kai thinks to himself. _‘Wait, why did I just think that? Stupid brain!’_

What was happening to him? This was way too much.

“Alright, we’ll have you lay on your stomachs on the massage bed. There should be no talking at all, just focus on relaxing and lastly, we hope you enjoy.” He hears the masseuse tell them. 

An hour later and he’s passed out on the massage table with Soobin shaking him awake softly. His eyes open and the first thing he sees is an image of a shirtless Soobin sitting on his massage table.

“Who knew someone like you could look so angelic while asleep?” Soobin snickers.

_‘Hold on. Did he just call me an angel?’_

Kai feels his heart stops and warmth rising up his neck to his face. He opens his mouth for a response but no sound could come out. Instead, he pushes Soobin off the table, unable to take the situation.

“Kai what the hell?” Soobin rubs his behind.

“What time is it?”

“Our session just ended a few minutes ago, asshole.” Soobin replies, looking daggers at him.

Kai smiles apologetically. “Sorry for pushing you. I was just… surprised.”

Kai grabs the activity sheet on the table and scans through it.

Soobin notices and calls to him. “Hey so the masseuse assigned to me mentioned that the Newlyweds game activity was really fun. You wanna try it out?”

Kai snorts. “Isn’t that the game to tell whether you know your significant other well?”

“Yeah, well, I was just guessing it’ll be pretty funny to see us get it wrong with every question.” He snickers.

Kai hums in agreement. This might be good to neutralize his feelings. He needed to feel like him and Soobin were nemesis again.

“Alright. Let’s go there after lunch.”

* * *

After having lunch, the two boys head over to their next activity which was held in this small assembly hall. Unlike the previous activity, this one was heavily packed as there were about 20 other couples with them. They chatted with each other noisily, reviewing facts about each other.

Kai doesn’t even know why those people were so determined to win. Probably to prove they really know each other? Who knows? He peeps the table at the front and sees the cheque and the giant trophy before nodding in understanding.

_‘That explains it.’_

“Hey, when do you think our turn is? There’s like 40 people in here.”

Soobin smirks. “I heard they only have one game per day and the couples are chosen at random. But don’t worry, I already asked the masseuse nicely if she could y’know…” He wiggles his eyebrows mischievously.

_“Cheat?”_

“Oh, don’t say it like that. She said we were too cute together and wanted us to experience the full couple’s cruise experience.”

Kai is beyond shocked. Why would Soobin do this? “Are you insane? Does this mean we’re definitely going to be one of the couples chosen?”

Soobin nods.

“I can’t believe we’re gonna be embarrassing ourselves in front of everyone.” Kai says making the both of them laugh.

Fuck it. It’s unlikely these old people know them anyways.

A while later, they prove themselves to be good actors when they pretend to be shocked upon hearing their names get called. All heads immediately turn to them, and Kai hopes none of these old people can recognize them. Not that he doesn’t want people thinking he’s gay. It’s just that he doesn’t know how to feel about people thinking that he and Soobin are together.

There were three carriages on stage, each one with an accompanying marker. A thin divider also separates the couples inside to prevent any cheating from happening. Soobin and Kai take their places with Soobin on the left and Kai on the right. Now that they were in front, they felt weirdly excited. 

Kai was especially buzzing. He needs to feel like Soobin was his nemesis again. He can’t wait to get all the answers wrong.

Suddenly, the same bald man from their massage room arrives to the podium holding a thin microphone. He clears his throat before talking in a host-like voice.

“Ladies and Gentlemen aboard the Magic Island cruise! Welcome, welcome, welcome to today’s Newlyweds game!”

The crowd erupts into cheers and applaud as the host start to introduce the contestants. Their other competitors seemed like nothing special, just two other young couples with similar ages as them.

“First, we have, Lia and Ryujin!” The crowd claps for the two beautiful women. They shyly wave to the crowd and briefly stand up to bow.

“Next is…Hyuna and Dawn!” He points to an older couple.

“And finally, we have Ethan and Grayson!”

Kai turns to Soobin in confusion. He recognizes the name anyways and stands up to wave to the crowd. Soobin laughs at his flustered reaction before greeting the crowd as well.

The host then starts to read out the rules for the game.

“Why the fuck did you say our names are Ethan and Grayson?” He hurriedly whispers to Soobin.

Soobin giggles. “If we’re going here to learn more about chemistry, I just thought that it would be much better if we’re in character.”

“You idiot. Don’t you remember the lawsuit? We’re not gonna be called Ethan and Grayson anymore.”

“Would you rather us use our real names, then?” Soobin proposes.

Kai quickly turns away, hiding a blush. “F—Fine. We’ll use the fake names.”

It’s what they’re here for anyways right? To get better chemistry for their show? So, why does Kai feel like he’s making this more personal than it should have been?

“Remember that the prize for this game will be a fat ass cheque along with this _beautiful_ trophy.” He says, proudly showing off the shiny trophy to the crowd.

“Okay. Are you ready players?” The bald man grins at them and points his thin mic towards their direction.

They shout a collective “YES” as a response.

“Alright then! First question. What is the right person’s favorite movie? Just to remind you, both sides will have to answer this question. If both of them answers the same thing then they will receive a point.” 

Kai remembers he’s the one on the right, which means Soobin needs to guess what his favorite movie was. He scribbles down _‘Begin Again’_ on his own board. He wonders if Soobin will get it right, he wouldn’t be able to right?

They had only talked about their favorite movies once and that was… a long time ago. Back when things were _different_.

The buzzer loudly interrupts Kai’s thoughts.

“And that’s time! Lovers put your boards up!”

Kai brings his board up along with Soobin. The crowd glances at them and launches loudly. Kai raises his eyebrows and peeks at Soobin’s board.

_‘Begin Again’_

Soobin looks down on him smugly.

“How the hell did you—”

“Alright so for the first round, only two couples got it right. We have Hyuna and Dawn, _and_ Grayson and Ethan, kindly give them a round of applause!”

Kai suspiciously stares at Soobin, he _has_ to be cheating in some way.

“Let’s proceed to the next question! This time, the person to the right will answer a question about the left.” He pauses momentarily. “What is their favorite movie?”

Kai thinks about it for a moment. It has to be Avengers: Infinity Wars. He vividly remembers that time when Soobin had live tweeted this whole movie on the timeline. He takes a wild guess and writes it down on his board.

“Okay everyone, raise your boards!”

Kai anxiously raises his. He doesn’t understand why but he’s hoping that he gets the answer right.

“Wow! Only _one_ couple gets the answer right: Ethan and Grayson, everyone give it up for these two!”

Soobin gawks at him, blushing slightly. “How’d you uh, figure that out? I’m pretty sure I’ve never told you that before. You really are in love with me huh?”

Kai glares at him, his ears warming up. “Shut up! I just remembered your annoying ass live tweeting about it that day alright?”

Soobin sits smugly. “Sure, let’s say that.”

Kai rolls his eyes playfully. For some reason, this boy wasn’t getting on his nerves as much anymore.

As the questions went on, the both of them kept on getting it right. It’s not like they were cheating or anything because they had definitely answered them with the best of their abilities. Somehow, they knew _a lot_ of things about each other, _so much more_ than they thought they knew.

Throughout the game, Kai gets visited by this one feeling again. This feeling that maybe deep down they don’t really see each other as enemies after all.

_‘Maybe it’s time to give him another chance?’_

“And we have a winner! Everyone please give a round of applause for the best couple, Grayson and Ethan!” The bald man proudly announces. The two boys were met with thunderous claps as they shyly move to the front of the stage to accept their trophy.

Suddenly, the thin microphone was thrust in front of them. “Any words from you two?”

Soobin nods, holding the microphone. “I’d like to thank everyone for your support. This really is such a surprise for us and I’m glad that we got to prove to everyone how well we know each other.” He glances at Kai warmly. “Oh, and I hope that this experience will bring everyone closer with their loved one. That’s all, thank you!”

He beams brightly at Kai who gives him one in return.

“Well, let’s all hope that you guys will last for a _very long time._ Right, everyone?” The crowd shouts back with affirmative words startling Kai.

A very long time, huh?

* * *

“Boy am I tired!” Soobin plops down on one of the deck benches, breathing heavily.

Kai sets their trophy down on the ground and sits beside Soobin, slumping forward.

“You heard about the party tomorrow night? Apparently, it’s like the big send off for everyone who signed up for this cruise.”

“Yeah, and what about it? I thought you only wanted us to have dinner later for the third activity?”

Kai sighs and shakes his head. “I uh change my mind. I wanna go to the party…with you.” He blushes furiously. “O—only if you’re okay with that.”

Soobin smiles softly. “I wanna go to the party with you as well.”

Kai turns his head, face heating up again at that.

“Okay. Good. Cool.”

He brings his hands together, trying to work up the courage again to ask Soobin another question.

“Hey uh, since it won’t be till tomorrow night, do you maybe uh want to do the rest of couple’s activities?”

“Oh?” Soobin’s ears perk up.

“I—I mean it’s fine if you don’t want to! I just thought y’know that it would be a waste of money if we didn’t complete _every_ activity.”

“Right…” Soobin giggles at him. “And here I was thinking that you just wanted to do them because you’re in love with me.”

Kai smacks his arm, making the other boy wince in pain. “Shut up. Are you in or not?”

“Of course, I’m in. You know I don’t like _wasting money_.” He says suggestively. 

Kai sighs in relief. He grins to himself subconsciously, not realizing Soobin was staring at him the whole time. They spend the rest of their break resting in silence, their hearts and mind contented with the idea of spending 8 more couple’s activities with each other.


	2. The Moonlight Tango

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kai and soobin get competitive in proving who the better actor is at the couple's cruise party. suddenly, one moment changes everything and forces to revisit old feelings and face their new ones.

Just like they promised, they went through every single couple’s activity in the list. They did things like couples’ yoga, towel folding, taste testing different wines, watching old romantic movies, and many more. This resulted in them being one of the talks around the cruise ship especially when people recognized them as actors.

Kai also found himself acting less walled up around the boy. It’s like the more time he spent with him, the more he actually enjoyed his company. Soobin was actually a fun person to be with, yes, they still jab at each other from time to time but the maliciousness of it is pretty much almost gone now.

This terrified Kai because for the longest time, he had only seen Soobin as an enemy, he loathed him and heavily disliked everything that he did. Especially because of what happened a long time ago.

But now, as Soobin wrapped his arms around the younger boy struggling to help him tie his bow on for the party, perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing.

> **8:30pm**

Kai stares at their reflection in the mirror, Soobin had this cute determined look on his face as he twists the piece of cloth on Kai’s neck trying to align it correctly. Stepping back, he huffs in frustration when that bow tie just won’t sit straight.

“It doesn’t have to be straight y’know.”

“I know. I just don’t want people to ridicule you.” Soobin replies. “I—I mean, only _I_ should be able to ridicule you.”

“Hyung, it’s alright. It’s just a bow tie anyways.” Kai giggles, posing in front of the mirror.

“Fine. It’s your fault anyways for insisting we dress up nicely for this party.”

Kai smirks. “Well if we’re going to get dubbed as the _‘best couple of the cruise’_ then we kinda have to look the part.”

“You’re really letting it go to your head, huh?” Soobin laughs softly, placing a hand on Kai’s shoulder. It’s a small gesture but it leaves Kai feeling tingles spread throughout his body.

“Still can’t believe this is the last event of the cruise.”

Soobin leans down to put his lips near Kai’s ear. “Why? Were you enjoying spending time with me that much?”

_‘Yes.’_

“Of course not, you pervert! I was just glad to be away from work for a while.” He shakily responds, sliding out of Soobin’s hold.

“Whatever. You ready to go now?”

He wasn’t.

“Yeah.”

* * *

The party looked absolutely gorgeous. The whole deck was decorated with different colored streamers, balloons with various shapes, and other structures that improved the overall illuminating visuals. The pool was set to sputter out liquid dramatically as lights shined through making it seem like the lights were flowing. The tables were spaced reasonably from each other and away from the center where the big dance floor was held. A giant projector was sat in the frontmost of everything so that every single person can see what was shown on the screen.

Kai and Soobin also discovered that they were very much overdressed. Upon seeing the other couples dress up in more casual outfits, they immediately dipped and stored their coats somewhere. Kai was especially not fond of this idea when he saw how handsome Soobin had looked with rolled up sleeves and tucked in dress shirt.

Soobin notices the other boy shamelessly staring at him, and flexes his arms nonchalantly to tease him. He smirks seeing Kai swallow nervously, his eyes bulging.

“Kai-ya, why don’t we just ditch this party and go somewhere? Just you and me.” He saunters over to him.

For a moment, Soobin was sure that Kai hesitated.

Kai stares at him intensely. “You know I know what you’re trying to do right?”

“I’m not doing anything.”

The younger boy rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.

“I know you’re trying to fake flirt with me and get me to embarrass myself!”

Soobin snickers at that. He shakes his head at him.

“Of course not! I’m just acting like my usual goofy self. Is there perhaps a reason why you perceive those actions as flirting?”

Kai blushes. He turns away from the older boy and twists the sleeves on his dress shirt nervously.

“Only a fool could see that what you’re doing right now isn’t flirting.”

Kai can sense him getting closer and closer to him. His heartbeat quickens when he feels Soobin’s breath on the column of his neck.

“What are you gonna do about it then?” Soobin asks in a low voice.

Is there anything Kai can do? He wants to ~~kiss Soobin~~ _get back at Soobin._ That’s it! He wasn’t gonna let him have all the fun.

“How about we have a competition?” Kai proposes.

“A competition?”

“Yeah. Tonight, we pretend to be the couple everyone on this ship perceives us to be. I was holding back before but now… I’m giving it my all.” Kai smirks. “The first one to break character is the loser. Loser then owes the winner a huge favor.”

Soobin raises his eyebrows at this sudden change in attitude from the boy.

“Are you sure about this, Kai?”

Kai cutely furrows his eyebrows, putting on his best determined face. “Dead sure.”

Soobin grins, pinching his cheeks. “Alright then! May the best actor win tonight.”

They shake hands to seal the deal before finally making their way to the party.

* * *

> **9:00pm**

They walk back quietly with Kai on the left side. The windows on the hallway allowed the beautiful moonlight to flow into the ship and illuminate their way.

Soobin looks over at Kai, admiring how the faint radiance from the sky makes him glow even more. From the way his cute nose ridge casted a shadow on his cheeks to the way his eyes twinkled. He looked absolutely breathtaking. Soobin felt absolutely smitten.

He looks down at their brushing hands and intertwines them together. Kai makes a small surprised squeak from beside him before squeezing back Soobin’s hand.

This is all just a part of the competition, right?

Once they finally arrive, a flurry of people immediately come greet them. A few even squeals upon seeing the two hold hands. They receive a round of congratulations, smiles and invitations to go dance, which they respectfully decline for now.

They take in everything at the party, amazed at how fun and romantic it all looked. It’s like the decorators wanted couples to fall deeper in love tonight. He feels Kai’s nudge from beside him.

“We should go get drinks. Might help with tonight.”

Soobin raises his eyebrow. “Oh, so you need alcohol to be a good actor? Okay, _Brad Pitt_.”

Kai groans, dragging Soobin behind him. “I _thought_ we were supposed to act like a couple tonight.”

“That’s what I’m doing. I’m the kind of boyfriend who likes to tease you.”

“Goodluck to whoever falls for your stupid ass then.” Kai shudders.

At the bar, they order their favorite drinks. Kai with a grape cocktail and Soobin with a simple rum and coke. Kai looks down at his drink, taking a tentative sip. He giggles when the sweet and slightly bitter liquid floods his taste buds.

“This really hits the spot. Wow.” He exhales in relief before taking another sip.

Soobin shakes his head, amused. He looks over and notices the liquid staining Kai’s lips.

“Hey Kai?”

“Yes?”

Soobin then makes a show of dragging his thumb across Kai’s lips, keeping strong eye contact with him. Once the droplet adheres to his thumb, he brings it up to his own lips and licks it off, still not breaking his gaze. Kai’s jaw drops at the action.

“You’re right Kai, this _is_ delicious.”

Soobin laughs to himself upon seeing the other boy’s reaction. His neck up to his ears were very red and Soobin was sure it wasn’t because of the alcohol.

> **Soobin** – _1_
> 
> **Kai** \- _0_

* * *

> **10:00pm**

“…And so that’s why we went to this romantic cruise ship. It was honestly such a big help. We’d been having doubts about our relationship but now we’re solid again.” Lia talks animatedly to them, her girlfriend Ryujin smiling brightly from beside her.

“Well congratulations to you two, you guys really seem like the perfect couple!” Soobin mentions politely.

“Says the top couple of the ship! I’m still a bit salty we lost the Newlyweds game only with a few points gap. Anyways, how did you two get together?”

Soobin and Kai looked at each other in panic.

Kai winks at Soobin before replying to the girls. “I was one of the up and rising actors in this new show they’re producing and Soobin was one of the personal assistants…”

Soobin’s eye twitches in annoyance.

“…Anyways, every day on set he would serenade to me and eventually we fell in love with each other. I’m actually the reason he became an actor. One day when the studio needed some extras, I _begged_ the director to give him a part...” 

The two girls open their mouths in awe, nodding their heads along to Kai’s story.

“Oh, and he was _very much_ horrible at first but because of some acting lessons from yours truly, he evolved into a sort-of better actor. Right, darling?” Kai shoots him a devilish smile.

“Right.” Soobin replies through gritted teeth.

“That sounds absolutely sweet! You guys really look like you complete each other.” Lia swoons. “Now, if you excuse us, my heels are killing me. We’ll be back later once we change.”

Once the two girls had left their line of sight, Soobin immediately gives a snickering Kai a smack on the shoulder.

“Next time someone asks, _I’m_ telling the story of how we met. You little shit.”

> **Soobin** – _1_
> 
> **Kai** – _1_

* * *

And so, as the night progressed, the both of them had their fair share of flirting with each other. Just like when Kai ‘accidentally’ tripped and fell into his arms or how Soobin always kept his hand around Kai’s waist protectively when they met with guests. People from all around the cruise had spent short conversations with them which was also very challenging as they had to make up lies about one another continuously.

Currently, they were both pretty even with each other.

> **11:00pm**

“Oh Charlie dear, won’t you come here for a second!” The woman that they were currently talking to bellows out, sounding like a woman from those old films.

A mature looking guy in his 60s appear, smiling at them politely. He takes his wife’s hand who reels him in closer.

“What is it, darling?”

“Well, I was talking with our friends here and they mentioned that they were actors!” She brings her attention back to Kai and Soobin smiling widely. “See, Charlie here is actually a former director, he’s retired now but I just thought that he could give you a few tips in the acting business.”

Soobin looks at him in awe before coming forward to speak. “We’d love to hear any advice, sir. It would be a big help to us!”

Charlie’s eyes crinkle with his smile.

“Very well. One of the most important ones is to _know your limits_. You should trust yourself in knowing when it’s time to stop and avoid forcing yourself to do a project. Next, is to _practice versatility_. You won’t evolve into a better actor if you stay in just one field or genre. Start branching out and exploring other options to improve your skills...”

Both Soobin and Kai passionately nods their heads and mentally writes them down.

“…Last but not the least. This one is the most important one in my opinion. Do not forget about the people that helped you and supported you to get where you are today. Try to keep a good relationship with them, because without them, you would be nothing…”

Soobin’s throat dries up. This is bringing him a lot of bad memories. He takes a quick glance at Kai and notices him looking down sadly. Kai must be going through the same thing. His heart ached at the sight.

“…Which is why I love my wife over here. Without her support, I would have quit in the past and had never become a director. I hope you two will stay together and support each other as well.”

Soobin forces a smile on his lips, thanking the couple. They fake an excuse and slip out of the conversation and into the buffet table.

The silence was very evident between them, the tension as thick as it can get. Soobin didn’t know what to say. This was something he had buried deep inside his mind and that advice Michael gave just made him brought back locked memories. But if he was feeling this way, he couldn’t imagine how Kai is feeling right now.

“Kai?”

“Hm?” Kai seemed like he was still zoning out.

“I—I can leave you alone for a while if you want. I uh, I’ll just stay in the room and we can forget about this bet.”

Kai meets his eyes and studies Soobin face, a million thoughts running in his mind. He places his hand over Soobin’s softly.

“Do you wanna dance with me?”

Soobin was taken aback at his reaction. He nods anyways and leads the way to the dance floor. They both step onto the glowing tiles that make up the dancefloor. The lights around them were dim with only a dangling disco ball-chandelier hybrid illuminating the scene.

It was also already late into the night so not a lot of people are dancing along with them. Soobin thinks he much prefers it this way.

Immediately, their hands slide seamlessly across their body with Kai’s arms wrapping around his neck and Soobin’s around the other’s waist.

An old rnb love song from the 80’s was currently playing prompting the two to sway lifelessly to the beat.

Soobin was a bit ashamed to even look Kai in the eye. Not after knowing he was currently reliving some horrible memories. He repeatedly opens and closes his mouth for a while, wanting to say something to the younger boy.

“Kai, I—”

“Shh, don’t speak. I don’t wanna talk. For now, can we please just dance?” He requests, unshed tears lightly coating his eyes.

Soobin swallows roughly and nods, focusing more on his dancing. He lets the training he did for this one dance movie take over his body as he elegantly dances with Kai. The other boy follows suit, letting his body do the talking. 

As the song got more intense, so did their dancing.

He grabs to Soobin’s arm, spinning his whole body around before moving closer, enough for their chests to touch. Soobin reciprocates with a strong grip on his waist as they move as one at this closer proximity. Eventually, they burst and let go of each other, dancing solo on their own before eventually reuniting.

All around them, people stopped what they were doing as they witness this beautiful and graceful performance. You just couldn’t tear your eyes way at this scene. From the way their expression changes and matches their moves to how they dance not missing a single beat, clear passion emanating from every single step.

Eventually the song ends and everyone is applauding and cheering loudly around them. The pair pays them no mind as they stay focused on each other. Their chests heave up and down, sweat beading on their forehead but there was an unspoken sense of clarity between them. They understand what the other is trying to say now.

Suddenly, a bright spotlight is cast upon them. They both try to blink away at the sudden light exposure. A loud voice booms across the party.

“Let’s welcome our next couple for the _kiss cam_ tonight! Everyone, please join me in cheering for them!”

Suddenly the crowd that gathered around them stars chanting. _“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”_

Soobin and Kai looks at each other briefly, laughing heartily. Soobin looks at him expectantly, smirking. Kai shrugs, throwing all care to the wind and pulls Soobin closer.

Soobin grabs Kai’s face and places his fingers to his lips, leaning in closer. They meet in the middle and close the gap between their faces briefly, just enough to satisfy the crowd watching them. The people around them cheers louder, before eventually going back to their own business.

Kai rests his head on Soobin’s shoulder as they lazily sway to a slow song. The air between them seems much different now. Something had shifted.

* * *

> **1:00 am.**

They were currently staying near the railing on the side of the ship, overlooking the dark blue ocean. It even appeared glittering under the moon. Soobin watches Kai attempt to stay awake, his eyes closing then swiftly opening back up again.

“We should head back to our room now. We had a pretty long night.” Soobin says, standing up.

“Why did you do a stage kiss on me?” Kai asks in a small voice.

Soobin pauses, staring at the other boy for a while. His hair flows freely in the cool night wind, his aura radiating something Soobin hadn’t felt in a long time. He sighs and joins him by the railings to look at the ocean.

“I…didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I knew you didn’t wanna kiss me so I saved you the trouble of it all.”

Kai sleepily shakes his head. “But what if I do wanna kiss you?” He tilts his head to look at the older boy. “What are you gonna do then?”

Soobin stares deep into his eyes, searching for some answers. The other boy stares back at him, parting his lips. Silence falls around them for a second before Soobin dives in and takes Kai’s lips with his own, for real this time.

Kai closes his eyes and wraps his arms around the slightly taller boy, putting all his pent-up passion into this one kiss. Soobin tilts their heads allowing him to kiss the other boy deeper. Kai makes a sound of agreement at his actions, hopelessly drawing him closer.

God, did Soobin miss those lips.

Eventually they pull apart, breathless and smitten. Kai catches his breath by leaning on Soobin’s chest.

“I hate you. I hate you so _so_ much.” He confesses unexpectedly before letting himself cry silently. Soobin wraps his arms around him to comfort him.

“I know and I’m sorry.”

“The thing is…I hate myself even more. Is that even possible?” Kai sniffles. “I’m so confused. I don’t know what my feelings are anymore. I shouldn’t want to have these feelings for you. It’s not healthy.”

Soobin grabs his face, looking into his teary eyes endearingly. “Whatever you’re feeling right now it’s valid, okay? I’m right here to listen...”

Kai nods in understanding.

“…And for what it’s worth..I think we should try again. We are completely different people than we were in the past. I think…it would go well this time.”

Kai pauses for a while, weighing in all the possibilities and options. He shakes his head in response.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. I’m not sure I’m ready to dive in just yet. I just need a little bit more time, I’m sorry.”

Soobin smiles. “That’s alright, Kai. I can wait. I will wait as patiently as I can until you’re ready.”

Kai’s eyes widen in shock. This was not the reaction he was expecting from the other boy. This was when he realized that the Soobin he knew back then was way different than the Soobin currently in front of him.

Kai leans in to peck his lips softly. He pulls back and grins at him widely. “I don’t mind kissing you though. You seem to have gotten way better.”

Soobin chuckles. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“That we should say fuck it to feelings for a while and just have fun?” Kai smirks at him before giving the older boy another peck. “What do you say?”

“Are you serious?”

Kai shrugs. “Maybe. I just think feelings are way too overrated right now. We’re young, we’re beautiful, why not enjoy that without the inevitability of heartbreak?”

Soobin knows this isn’t right and it isn’t healthy. But the way Kai was staring at him, his lips parted and eyes needy and challenging.

“Fuck it. I’m in.”

Soobin surrenders, leaning closer to kiss the other boy deeply again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello friends! ┏( ͡♥ ͜ʖ ͡♥)┛
> 
> thank you all for reading and finishing the couple's cruise arc. 🥺  
> what do you guys think happened in sookai's past? i'd love to hear your theories.  
> the next part will be out next week.
> 
> (✿ ͡⚈ ͜ʖ ͡⚈) ♥ any kudos/comments will be greatly appreciated. 
> 
> thank you for reading!
> 
> p.s. let's be mutuals on twitter (っ ͡⚈ ͜ʖ ͡⚈)っ --> @tokyocherry_twt

**Author's Note:**

> hello friends!
> 
> once again, i'd love to thank you guys for the positive responses 🥺 it's been giving me that extra push to continue writing. 
> 
> this story will be split in 2 chapters, the second chapter will be up next week and if you want to, you can bookmark the series to know exactly when it drops. also, feel free to check out my other fics on my page. >3<
> 
> tell me your thoughts in the comments, and any kudos will be greatly appreciated! 💕
> 
> follow my twitter -> @tokyocherry_twt
> 
> love you!  
> 🌸


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